To
my mind, this movement of the Mothers of
the Disappeared was the forerunner of all
modern movements seeking democracy throughout
Latin America. More significantly, it is
this movement that redefined for me the
essence of the women's movement. While this
is the common vision of women throughout
Latin America, for me, a Mexican American
living in the United States, this was a
new perspective: this courageous campaign
against totalitarianism broadened my vision
of how women could achieve equality.

In the words of Guadalupe, a member of CONVIGUA
(National Coordinator of the Widows of Guatemala):
"We did not know what to do after the massacre
of 1982. We didn't cook, we didn't eat;
our children cried from hunger and pain,
but we came to realize that we were left
to carry the full responsibility of our
family, to feed our children, apart from
the great burden of suffering, which we
carry around in our hearts." A woman named
Teresa, from the Federation of Popular
Neighborhoods in Guadalajara, said,
"For the woman, the house is hers, and things
such as no light and no water are part of
the home. So it is her fight."

In this movement, women assert their moral
authority as mothers and raise their voices
for the the political systems they want
and against oppression. Their reproductive
and nurturing roles were transformed from
the private to the public, the biological
to the political. Said a widow in Guatemala:
"The first thing we had to conquer was our
own fear."

These groups challenged totalitarian regimes
and the use of state-initiated violence
to suppress the political freedoms of expression
and association. These movements became
the precursors of current movements to challenge
undemocratic practices of governments and
to defend and protect human rights.

Moreover, when they confronted repressive
governments, seeking to defend individual
children and relatives, they were subjected
to harassment, persecution and violence.
Many became victimized by private and public
security forces--suffering torture and rape.
Ultimately, seeking justice for their family
members, the mothers and women relatives
of the disappeared confronted their situation
as women--political rape created an understanding
of gender abuse and gender inequality in
power relations.

In the end, the movement of Mothers of the
Disappeared opened an alternative space
for political participation that mobilized
people in forms other than those established
by traditional political systems. The issue
is no longer whether the movement is feminist
or not feminist, but that it changed the
lives of women and the way in which gender
is perceived in traditional politics, leading
to a questioning of power relations as they
move from the individual, personal, and
familial to the broader society.

Historically then, it becomes clear that
for many Latin American women, the struggle
to assert their rights and dignity as women
is an integral part of the liberation movement
of all peoples. We cannot liberate people
without liberating women, and we cannot
liberate women until we liberate all people.